Tag: kore.ai

2017 will be remembered as the “Year of the Chatbots,” and their enterprise use.

The most recognized companies are already taking advantage of this technology, for example, Facebook, who in the past couple of months, has added over 33,000 chatbots, integrating them into their Messenger platform.

We need to follow their lead and do research so we can jump right into this growing enterprise solution.

Why Chatbots?

Chatbots have proved themselves so far to be very useful and will become the primary solution in the enterprise world.

Let me point out some of the main features that companies use chatbots for:

I wanted to see how quickly Sephora schedules makeover appointments. First, the chatbot asked me what city I live in. I typed in my zip code, and it took about a second before it provided a list of stores to choose from. When I selected one, instantaneously, it offered available times to make the booking.

I was impressed.

Final Thoughts from ChattyPeople

Get a move-on and start building your personal chatbot today to improve your business and make your customers happy and loyal.

1. Create a Facebook Page

If you haven’t done this already, you should start now.

Take advantage of social media. Facebook offers significant potential for businesses to grow. The possibility to present your business through Facebook is a tremendous opportunity because Facebook has more than 1.2 billion users and growing.

It’s a great way to start building your business back up and to expand your customer base.

2. Make Your Chatbot Able to Sell on Messenger

When you get ready to jump onto the chatbot platform, you need to consider building a chatbot that will be able to sell products on Facebook Messenger.

You need to start working with a company, such as ChattyPeople, that can develop a chatbot with an option to be integrated into to the Messenger platform.

3. Using Your Chatbot as Customer Support

The benefit of having a chatbot is extraordinary, and your imagination is the limit to this new and fast growing technology.

Using a chatbot, you are able to provide your consumers Customer Support, 24/7.

To be able to provide a quick response to your customers’ needs will make you look more professional and you will attract more clients.

People want to use companies that are more responsive than those who are not. Consumers don’t want to waste their time interacting with businesses that provide late responses to their inquires.

By offering customer support with a chatbot, you will satisfy their needs. And you need to be able to use that interaction between your customer and your chatbot, for potential sales, as well.

4. Streamline Payments

Many companies have noticed that their visitors were browsing the website, choosing and adding items to their basket, getting to the payment page, and then not completing their purchase.

By adding PayPal as an option for your checkout process, you will be able to fast-track the checkout process and give your customers a way to pay for their purchases through a well-known payment brand.

1. Calendar Updates

With the use of Artificial Intelligence that our favorite smartphones provide to us, we are already able to transfer some of our daily tasks to these assistants.

They are more than capable of setting up our meetings and updating and keeping track of our calendars for upcoming events that we may have.

With simple voice interaction, AI can text someone or connect our call with the people from our contact list. They can even provide a search for us, for example, “Locate the closest pizza restaurant.”

2. Control Your Environment

We will be able to use voice activated services that our gadgets have to control other smart devices that we have at home.

With this simple voice interaction, we can use, for example, Amazon’s Alexa, to be our personal assistant.

With the ability to learn and grow its knowledge, Artificial Intelligent devices will be able to give us various controls over our home, from setting the thermostat to controlling any other smart device that we own that has Bluetooth capability.

3. Re-order Necessities

We know how we can be occupied with our day to day tasks and keep forgetting to buy or order items on time. These can be products that we use every day.

With the utilization of Artificial Intelligent devices, we will never forget to re-order our favorite coffee, as they will be able to keep track by learning from previous orders we have made and give us a reminder that we might run out of coffee.

Then, they can re-order it for us. Or, we can simply tell them to reorder our coffee every 15 days.

4. Be Our Companions

5. Provide Entertainment

They can tell a joke, or be our DJ when we have guests. They can tell us a story or read to us one of our favorite books.

AI will become more interactive and will eventually reach self-awareness where we will be able to play even better games with them.

6. Regulate Our Health

With the expansion of our technological world and the inventions of smart gadgets, Artificially Intelligent devices will be able to monitor our health and provide us with suggestions on how to change our diet.d

Additionally, AI will be able to help us in an emergency situation when no one else is around with the option to call 911 on our behalf.

7. Save Us Time

Today, time is one of the most valued things in our lives.

All of the examples mentioned above will provide us with exactly that ─ the time to focus more on other more important tasks in our day to day way of living.

And, for sure, AI will enable us to live a much more quality-filled life and provide more comfort for ourselves.

Final Thoughts

With the use of the technology that is surrounding us, we will become more advanced and take our minds off of repeated and frustrating day-to-day tasks so that we can concentrate on more important aspects of LIFE itself.

With Social Media and Facebook, the way we do business has changed, and is reshaping still. With the all-in-one-place that Facebook is providing, and with Facebook Messenger, the interaction with consumers has evolved, and will continue to do so.

Customer Support Reshaped to Customer Care

As companies expand their customer base, they are in need of a call center that provides customer support. However, with social media, the possibilities are there to reach potential customers worldwide, and call centers do not provide the necessary tools for obtaining satisfied consumers.

From call centers, we have moved to e-mail support, but have to wait at least 24 – 48 hours for a response, and it just becomes frustrating.

The brands that have been in business for many years go with the technological flow, as they use every tool provided in this technological world we are living in.

With the utilization of chatbots, customer support can be reached 24/7 and provide customer care to all their consumers.

Who is the Future Consumer and What Do They Want?

Our children are the future consumers, and for them, interacting with gadgets will be in their nature. For me, from time to time, I love to use older forms of technology, for example:

I was using my old Samsung flip-flop mobile phone that I had, mainly because the battery was great, and I was able to use this phone for calling for a couple of days before charging the battery.

But the funniest thing happened to me. My daughter took the phone, opened it, and ask me “Is this a phone, Daddy? What can I do with it?”

I was laughing and said, “Well, what is the purpose of a phone ─ to make and receive calls.” She said,” That’s it?” It`s cute. She is used to having a touch screen phone and Siri where she can interact with the phone like a friend. Then, I remembered that she doesn’t know what an audio cassette is or floppy disk is either, and I started telling her what kind of stuff we were using when we were kids.

My daughter is a millennial kid. She is a kid that is living with the gadgets of her time. She is a kid where Alexa is a part of the living room, and when she walks in, she says, “Alexa, play Taylor Swift,”

Businesses don’t want to put themselves in a situation where future consumers won’t be able to reach them. I remember a scene from one of my favorite movies, “I Robot” where Will Smith (Detective Spooner) and Dr. Calvin (Bridget Moynahan) are inside Detective Spooner`s apartment, and there is an audio player (an older device) that she tries to turn on by saying, “Play.” Then, she presses the button, and the JVC turns on, and it is really loud. Dr. Calvin addresses the player by saying, “End program, cancel.” Detective Spooner shuts it off by using a remote control.

This is a science fiction movie that gives us a glimpse into a possible 2035.

FInal Thoughts

It’s time to act quickly on chatbot technology if you own a business, as chatbot platforms are a must-have technology for the future.

An Intelligent Virtual Assistant is a software operator that is able to perform undertakings or administrations for a person, also called a chatbot.

A survey conducted in May this year found that the most used AI chatbots in the US market are :

Siri: Apple’s interface ─ 34%

Hello Google: Google`s Assistant ─ 19%

Alexa: Amazon ─ 6%

Cortana: Microsoft ─ 4%

Apple’s HomePod Speaker was announced in June and wasn’t included in the survey.

Facebook Messenger Assistant projected that it would be accessible to several million on Messenger by the end of 2017.

Google and Apple have substantially introduced bases of clients on cell phones, and Microsoft has an outgoing, pre-installed base of Windows PC users with Cortana working through telephone and Bluetooth speakers, as well.

We need to point out that Amazon stands out with the ability to put in online, web-based, business requests via Alexa.

Enterprise Chatbots and Voice Activation Gadgets are Changing the World

Voice activated bots, such as Google Now, Alexa, Cortana and Siri are preinstalled into the OS to be able to do searches online.

Expectations are that in the year 2020, over 200 billion searches will be done by use of voice. In upcoming years, there are going to be more than 3.5 billion voice activated gadgets, and less than 5% are going to have classic keyboard base consoles. In this way, it affects homes, autos, trade, managing an account, training and every other man vs. machine-based interaction.

Amazon’s Echo and Echo-dot are gadgets controlled by voice that read books, the news and recordings, plays your favorite radio station, answers questions, gives you reports, activity and climate changes, provides information on nearby organizations, gives sports scores and timetables, control lights, switches and indoor regulators, arranges a Uber or orders Domino’s, and additionally, utilizes the Voice Service of Amazon`s Alexa.

Other platforms like Google Now or Microsoft’s Cortana can, without much of a stretch, help make our lives much easier with a lot of options, such as overseeing timetables, track packages and check on upcoming flights.

Our growing dependence on chatbot platforms operated by voice has multiplied the ascent of machine vs. machine correspondence, and this will have a genuine effect on the future outcome of how we make payments, do business and interact with home gadgets.

Online Searches

We have found ourselves at the intersection of how we are performing our online searches. With the fast development of messaging applications, there is the contention that the fate of e-commerce and searches will be, by default, pre-installed within the platform itself with chatbots as VAs.

This includes Google Assistant and Facebook Messenger Searches, and e-business will unquestionably change in the following years.

A Strategy for Cooperation

AI Virtual Assistants work using:

Text (online talk), particularly in a texting application or other application

Voice, for instance with an Amazon Echo gadget, or iPhone`s Siri

By speaking into the Apple TV remote or Comcast remote when you are searching content via voice

Some VAs have options with various techniques of interaction, for example, Google Assistant through chat using the Google`s Allo application and by talking through Google Home speakers.

Today, movies are becoming a reality. From my point of view, movies are the basic cause of pushing scientists to accomplish amazing inventions. We need to thank the film makers and novelty writers for the imagination used in their stories.

In the last couple of years, enterprises had upgraded chatbot technology and implemented the use of them in the e-commerce business.

We are going to see the use of chatbots more and more as time goes by.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the Holy Grail of science. From the beginning of computerizing, our world has sought a way to make Artificial Intelligence possible.

What would be the definition of Artificial Intelligence if we needed to describe it? Computer programing, or a device that can mimic human behavior?

We have accomplished so much in the last decade through robotics and computer programming that we can take Artificial Intelligence technology to the next level. We are getting closer to giving it actual bodies and human-like appearances.

In fact, Hondas Asimo, a humanoid robot, can mimic human behavior. It can walk, talk and jump, can practice soccer with you, or even fetch you a drink. It`s pretty impressive, but unfortunately, that technology it’s still too expensive.

The Use of Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence

The main reason for this article is to describe the use of chatbots and Artificial Intelligence. Have we accomplished combining those already? I believe we did, with Amazon`s Alexa, Google Hello, iPhone`s Siri or Cortana from Microsoft.

All these chatbots, with the voice service they provide, in a way, have mimicked human behavior (Talk). You can talk to them, ask questions and get an answer.

The interaction is quite impressive. AI chatbots can be used through our smart phones and interactive devices which some of these companies have designed.

By addressing them with the established wake word, they start the interaction with you, and it feels as if you are asking a real person to do something for you.

A couple of years back, if someone were behind a computer and playing music, you would ask that person to play your favorite song. Now, all of that has changed

I`m asking Alexa to do that for me, and she will start shuffling songs for me from my favorite artist. We will be able to connect our smart devices and ask Alexa to perform an action for us, and in some way, she can become a private butler (that’s in a case of owning a smart house).

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Not only voice activated chatbots have Artificial Intelligence in their programming.

Messenger-based chatbots can provide human-like interactions with the ability of machine learning.

Machine learning is the option chatbots have to expand their knowledge by gathering information from the clients they interact with, and with time, they will learn more answers to common questions and will make choices on their own, which, again, is more human-like.

Developers are working intensively on upgrading chatbot technology. They are combining the needs of the companies into chatbot platforms, and, as a result, we have a technological product that is simplifying the end user experience.

We have all had our share of experiences with customer support, which involves long, annoying music over the phone while you wait for your turn to speak with someone.

Then, you might hear the famous lines: “YOUR CALL IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US” and “PLEASE STAY ON THE LINE FOR THE NEXT AVAILABLE AGENT.”

The “Nightmare of Customer Service” has come to an end.

Facebook Messenger Payment

Facebook announced their Messenger platform 2.0 in April this year. With continuous work with developers and businesses, they launched the v2.1 version with more features and simplifying the payment method using chatbots.

Facebook Payment is still in Beta, but it’s opened for testing your chatbot.

3 Options for Payments with the Messenger Bot

1. The Buy Button

At this time, the Buy Button is available for the US only.

It’s made to be simple: Click the Buy Button, Pay and you are done.

Let me elaborate a little more. By pressing the Buy Button, the button will start the command of payment and will ask the end user for their information (shipping address, the name of the recipient, etc.) and for the payment method.

When the end-user presses the Pay Button, the Messenger bot will finish the transaction, using your connected account for payment (via the previously mentioned payment platforms used by Facebook) and then the information is sent to your Webhook so you can process the payment.

After the transaction is finished, you will receive the information back to your webhook.

2. & 3. WebView and Custom Implementation

The custom option on the Messenger platform provides more options for businesses to connect their payments to the chatbot and it can be used worldwide.

This will give the company complete control of the payment process with the option that you can integrate the checkout page that you have within the Messenger app.

For implementing the custom payment option, all you need is to open your checkout page into Messenger WebView, and you can handle the payment as you will handle the payments on your checkout page on your website.

ChattyPeople Bot Making Platform

I believe that you will agree when I say that chatbot technology is making online shopping easy and the companies that use this technology look more professional.

From my point of view, as a shopper, I want to do business more with companies that provide me the information I need as quick as possible.

With chatbots, companies can respond to their customers fast and efficiently. With chatbots, you will gain satisfied and returning customers.

If you’re not using this tool, you should start because it is the future of doing business. Do your research; become familiar with the technology.

Chatbots are a new way in which companies are interacting with their customers; the use of chatbots is one way of presenting your company to the world.

Let’s take a couple of steps back in time and get a retrospective on how companies started to present themselves to potential customers:

A while back, all you needed to do was print business cards and give them to people you interact with on a day to day basis.

With business cards, you provided basic information, such as where your office is, your contact information, etc.

Then, the internet came to life, and companies were in the need to present themselves on the Net by making websites with more details about the business that they do.

What happened next is that Smartphones were created and people were using them all the time, so companies were in the need to change from regular websites to mobile sites.

Over time, with the constant use of our Smartphones, the interaction between the consumer and the business has altered, and the need of the company is to create mobile apps for a better experience.

Now, businesses find themselves in the next step of adjusting their way of interacting because of the needs of our customers.

People are expecting faster responses to their inquiries because the 1-800 calls are frustrating, and the “Please hold on to the line” messages just don’t work anymore.

If you are responsible for activities in an organization that has to do with creating, communicating and delivering offerings that have value for your company’s customers, then you need to act fast on chatbot technology and take advantage of it.